16 May 2013

Korn have always tried to be
different. From the beginning of their careers they have always done
something on most albums that is a little different. On their first album
they did a song about nursery albums which had a bag pipe opening, they brought
hip-hop back to the metal table with Follow The Leader and joined in on the
synth pop back during their untouchable period. So when they said they
would do an album with a dubstep tone, it was not a real surprise to your
blogger. It pissed a lot of people off, some people where disgusted that
the band would go down this direction. However, they have always been fame
whores. They are just like David Bowie - following whatever is the
current trend and making it their own. With only three of the original members
left due to one reason or another, is this really a Korn record or is it just a
pile of shite (or both).......

Now musically this is a lot
different to what has in some ways, there is more groove here (and not in a
groove metal way). The beats and programming is a fascinating and of a very
good quality. The producers for this album include - Skrillex, Feed Me,
Kill the Noise, Noisia, Datsik, 12th Planet, Downlink, Flinch, Excision, Jim
Monti and J Devil - with the whole production job being over seen by singer
Jonathon Davies. Some of these tracks have such a sonic kick it is almost a
positive statement for dubstep which is often looked down up. When the
music sounds this good, I can see why a lot of people love it and what
attracted Korn to work with these guys.

But there is a massive problem with this album - it is Jonathan Davies
himself. The man has been writing the same self hating lyrics for as long
as Korn have been going. Yes, he has had a shitty childhood - lots of people
have been through the shit and I do hope he gets help or has gotten help - but
some of his demons that he talks about are of his own making and the self pitting
lyrics are just a step too far. The reason why Korn have never truly took over
the world is that whilst they are ever changing, they have not grown - and this
bring the whole album which could have been such a truly diverse album if they
had have truly went out of their comfort zone; but instead they just made
something that I view as a disappointment. I really love the music, but
the lyrics are just high school awful. If they keep this direction going
I hope they get some better lyrics as the performance is still really good. So
frustrating, so very bloody frustrating.

"Once in a lifetime, there comes a music album that changes the WHOLE history of music albums. A feature so stunning in its effect, so vast in its impact that it profoundly affects the lives of ALL who listen to it."
Ok, I admit I borrowed that punchline from a film trailer, (the Holy Grail if you want to be so nerdish about it) as well as swapped one or two words over, though I'm desperately trying to avoid paraphrasing their work. But I always maintained that I would always do a comedy album and they don't come as high and mightily as The Pythons. Unlike the majority of their previous records, which basically are live recordings or re-working of their sketches, Monty Python Sings is an album where all six members show off their choral talents, so for the listener who's relatively new to this 40 year old genre of surreality and zaniness, this is only a snapshot of what the Pythons wrote.

Their most famous numbers are here, The Lumberjack Song, Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life and The Penis Song (Not The Noel Coward Song), basically from their sketches and from the four movies. However, they also include a few lesser known but well versed tracks, like the Chapman sung Medical Love Song, where he bemoans his genitalia ("I've left my body to science, but I'm afraid they've turned it down") and Oliver Cromwell, basically a Cleese sung biography of the Lord Protector of England accompanied by a Frederic Chopin piano concerto. Noteworthy but very brief also are a few other gems like Accountancy Shanty ("It's all tax deductable, we're fairly incorruptible"), Jones' rather gradually annoying I'm So Worried and the Gilliam solo I've Got Two Legs before he's shot dead.

Galaxy Song (by Eric Idle) has an air of true philosophy about it while Knights Of The Round Table never ceases to fix me a huge grin no matter how many times I've listened to it. This is an album that you just can't take seriously whatever mood you're in, and if you do, then sucks be to you and paints you as a misery guts who should do well forging a career shovelling gruel and mud. It sets out to be how The Pythons want it - brief, epic and just downright silly without too much spam in it. Ni!

7 out of 10. This is good and well worth a listen. (Cheque's on the way Mr Idle)

It is says that there this no
bad news - the person who said that is obviously an idiot. Lamb of God
are probably now more famous for the death of a fan than their own music, due
to lead singer Randy Blythe being arrested, put on trial and then acquitted for
the death of a fan who staged dived at a Lamb of God gig in Prague, Czech
Republic. This album was released in 2004 and is the bands fourth album in
total. When this came out, the band toured the world on 7 separate legs. One of
them came to Newcastle and I went with my mate as he was interested in
Throwdown - one of the support bands. When I saw Lamb of God I have to
admit I was slightly terrified. Not because it was my first gig, I had been to
many shows at that point, it was just the no-nonsense presence of the band and
they just sounded so loud and crazy on stage. It was a fantastic gig and
I really enjoyed it. So what was the album like that they released around
the time?

First thing I want to say about this is that even with a digital make over, the
production job by Machine & Lamb of God is really, really poor compared to
what I saw in a live gig in a local hall which is not famed for its acoustic
qualities. To be honest, it was such a letdown at the time I have actively
avoid the band - it was that poor. With the digital effect it is slightly
better, but it is not exactly what I was hope for from the band. They
were this aggressive punishing beast on stage, on the record they sound like an
old battle scared solider who knows how to get the job done. It is slow
and calculating, well played (that is something I have never denied of this
band) - but it just seems to be a lot of break down moments that you tend to
get in groove metal without any of the actual groove going on.

Out of the 11 tracks on here, I can honestly say that there is not one song
that does anything more than sound well play , yet a little under cooked
for these ears. Maybe it is me; maybe this was where I got off the merry-go-around
of chasing every metal band that was going. It is just always been one of those
albums that I owe which just makes me feel so disappointed on many level.
The best tracks for me are "Remorse Is For The Dead" & "Now
You've Got Something To Die For" and that is at a push. My view on
the album has not improved with age, and I feel from now on I will keep on
avoiding the band, even if I have nothing but respect for the way that the
singer has handled himself over the two years and the way the band have
supported him. If this is for you, I hope you enjoy it. I will be
elsewhere.

14 May 2013

A man cannot
live with guitars alone - well unless you are Jerm, but to his credited his
does have a love of Public Enemy. Orbital are a British dance duo from
Sevenoaks in England, and consist of brothers Phil & Paul Hartnoll.
Originally formed in 1989 they made albums until 2004 when they retired, but
just like an old wrestler they came back in 2009. They took their name
from the M25 which was essential to the early rave scene which gave birth to
the band. I have not started at the beginning of their career; however I
have started with the 6th album 'The Altogether'. This band is
responsible for a lot of people’s favourite Glastonbury festival moments and
has always been on my list of 'People I need to buy more music of'. I
know I have listened to this album at one of my friend’s places, but what is it
like in the cold light of day with the lights on....

Now I will go on record and say that this is not the best place to start with Orbital,
which I will explain as I go along. Overall, the album is just a shade too
long, yet the most interesting songs are at the later end of the album. I
have had this album on all night and day, and the more I listen to it, the more
I can see a band who were trying to keep on doing what they did, but started looking
over their shoulder slightly. At that point in 2001, they had been at the top
of their game; they had made soundtracks, given award winning performances at
festivals and were on everyone's most wanted list. But from the top, you
either level out or head down. This album is just not as good some of the
other work to be honest.

However, is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination - It is has some
beautiful moments, such as "Meltdown", "Waving Not
Drowning" (the most cheerful song I have heard in a long time) &
"Doctor?" (a reworking of the Dr Who theme) - and the rest of the
tracks are not a bad bunch. This album samples Ian Dury, Tool, The Trash men
and even David Gray (the brother in law to the Hartnoll's) appears on the track
"Illuminate" (it is a nice track). But I think that is what the
problem is with this album. It is just nice; it is not an album of men
with fire in their bellies anymore. The laurels have been rested on, and
no matter how good the music is - once you are not fighting to make the music,
it shows in the delivery. This was their last album before their first
break - it is worth listening to and pleasant enough, but not one of their most
essential of records.

Back in 1990, no-one outside of
an elite few knew that Nirvana existed. They were just a punk band form
Aberdeen, Washington, USA who were making some records that sold ok.
Their first UK show, actually their first show outside of America was in Newcastle
upon Tyne, supporting Tad at a venue called The Riverside. I knew someone who
was at the show, who said that they were 'shite and nothing special'. So what
happened between then and 'Nevermind'. This was the first Nirvana record to
feature Mr David Grohl, an act which Krist Novoselic says made everything fall
together for Nirvana. Reviewing this album is like going back to an album that
I played many times in my youth; this is the land mark record of my generation.
So how has it aged, is it now an old vintage to savour or is it like a bargain
bin can of bitter and a little dinted.

Ok, I will go with the negatives first - I can no longer listen to "Smells
Like Teen Spirit" without hitting the fast forward button. I have total
over familiarity with that track; it has been played so many times that my mind
has no room left for another listen to the song. I would lose the ability to
process numbers if I hear it again and I need that to pay for food. Also,
which "Polly" might be most people favourite acoustic track of 1991,
I have never liked it in any format. It is an acoustic douche bag of a song and
way always the point which I used to change to side two of the album. I
will also like to say whilst "Come As You Are" or the reworking of
Killing Joke's "Eighties" as Mr Chaney will like to say is a weird
song that does nothing much for me. It is not bad, just not very good either.

Now this record has a very slick and smooth production for what is essentially
a dirty punk album (grunge was not even a style when this was recorded). Butch
Vig has made the noise kid look slightly tidy, but underneath the Vanier of
gloss, the black heart of a junkie punk still lingers. I still adore
"Drain You" "On A Plain", "Lounge Act" (I was so
glad this was not a single, it still feels like a secret track) and "Territorial
Pissing". Actually, everything on what would have been the 'B' Side of the
album. It is just darker and almost the slightly better brought up cousin of
the vastly superior album 'In Utero'. Also, I still think of this as an album
in two halves - it still feels like it has a natural 'A' side and a natural 'B'
side. This is not a bad thing, just seems strange in this age of CD's and just
one natural record. Also I still love secret track "Endless Nameless"
which was a jam out track from an out take of "Lithium". Everything
on the 'B' side was just better.

So this album has a natural two face personality - you have the singles which
everyone loves, and I still don't mind "Lithium" or "In
Bloom" myself, but you also have the parts which are less famous on this
album. I mean, being less famous on one of the biggest selling albums in
history is like being 10 richest person in the world - you’re still going to be
rich. I really am not one for total nostalgia in some way, and this album
is not the life affirming record that it once was. I guess I am over familiar
with the main hits, yet the last seven tracks make this record for me. They
show that there was more to this band then the bright lights. According
to urban myth Kurt Cobain wanted to destroy every copy of this record and start
again. But how do you destroy a few million copies of a record. It is sighted
as changing a generation, which it may have done. Doesn't mean it is the best
album ever that is down to the perception of the listener - and this listener
is marking from his heart.....

13 May 2013

So this is the first of the new EP reviews. Is there any
reason I have decided to start with something that is now two years old? Well,
when I was out the other week I was talking to one of my friends who got very
offended that I had never listened to Skrillex and demanded and make amends for
this. This is coming from the same man who loves Scooter, Burzum and
Whitehouse. Skrillex is a producer from America who mostly remixes and
produces records for other people. This is a Grammy award winning album
and the title is homage to the David Bowie album 'Scary Monsters (& Super
Creeps). This guy has worked with artists as diverse as Lady Gaga and
Korn. So, is this stuff any good or is it all hype over actual context.
Now I must admit I wanted to hate this - not because of the artist and how he
looks, or the fact he has worked with Lady Gaga. It was just to annoy my
friend. He is a sensitive old hector and winding him up is fun. This ep
has a couple of amazing songs - "All I Ask Of You" (featuring
Penny)" is a wonderful track which could have easily been made in Europe.
It is so Euro influence that it might as well just have a picture of Mr
Skrillex in Paris eating an Italian pasta dish and drinking some German beer.
The title track so also a lovely little number, starting with a subtle fade
opening and some great moments. Yes it has those big dubstep cyber attack
noises, but that is part of the charm here.
However, there is little here that is keeping my interest out of the remaining
4 original tracks and 5 remixes! Yes it is interesting, and sort of ok, but I
was not thinking whilst I listened to this that I was listening to the future.
I was thinking of earlier house music from the 90's and 00's - apart from the
slight dubstep styling there was nothing here that has not been done before and
in a more effective way. I am sure if I ever head out into a club and it
is play that it will make more sense. Actually, some of it does make sense
without the club, but outside of that environment it is feels a little lost -
plus what ep needs 5 remix tracks that do not improve on the original tracks
one iota? Oh well, let’s see what else Mr Skrillex can bring to the table.....
3 out of five - Decent, getting thereYou
can purchase from hereYou can visit the Skrillex website hereYou can listen
to the EP here on Spotify here

Life of Agony can never be accused of taking the easy route, that is something that can be said for them. It could be the fact that the...

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Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens